Category: Photo Log

November 7-14, 2014

Our second week at Big Mama’s consisted of mostly finishing our preparations and watching for a weather window for the passage south, but we managed to have a bunch of fun while we waited.

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Logbook – November 7, 2014 (Pangaimotu to fuel dock and back)

Passage Notes

• Engines on
• 0850 Depart
• 0919 Engines off fuel dock
• Engines on
• 1308 Depart fuel dock
• 1337 Engines off Pangaimotu

Daily Notes

• Long wait (3 hrs) at the fuel dock waiting for the fuel truck
• Party @ Big Mama’s
• T/D so tired we don’t even make it to dinner
• Boys home @ 9pm

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Email to family and friends dated November 7, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Ready, Set, Wait

We’ve been in Nuku’alofa for a little over a week now, and we are all set and ready for our passage south. Engine inspections? Check. Rigging Inspection (Tim up the mast)? Check. Steering cable inspection? Check. Hull clean? Check. Sails repaired? Check. Propane and gasoline? Check. Provisions? Check. Cleared out of Tonga? Check. Duty free diesel? Check. Beer/rum? Check. Weather window for departure… crickets
Unfortunately weather is not cooperating, and it’s possible we’ll be waiting for a week or so more. But there’s a big crowd of boats here, including a total of 6 kid boats, so the boys are having a lot of fun playing on shore everyday.
We will relax this weekend, and then maybe do some touristy things on the island next week. Or maybe we go try to find a place to spearfish. We’ll see.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – November 8, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• D- ferry to town, run on the malecon
• Boys – volleyball, dodgeball, on shore with other kids
• Kid boats: Fluenta, Breeze, Lumbuz, Nautilus, Nirvana, Koa

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Logbook – November 9, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• Nobody leaves the boat day
• Alex – sore throat/puffy eye

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Logbook – November 10, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• D – short run along waterfront, market, bakery
• T/Jack – spearfishing. 0
• Dinner on shore

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Logbook – November 11, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Passage Log

• 0925 Engines on briefly – re-anchor (1)

Daily Notes

• (1) let out about 20 ft more chain to 175′ total. Original estimate of 168 ft must have been incorrect
• Strong westerly. 20 kts sustained most of the day
• As of 1649 max of 28.4 kts (later 28.7)
• Max & kids brought over a bottle of Anejo to say thanks to Tim for helping with the sail

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Logbook – November 12, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• D – run (3 miles) & light shopping. Fell while running in the street
• Boys finish school early, play on shore
• T/Jack – spearfish
• D – fell in water trying to retrieve flip-flop
• Potluck on shore, fun group of boats, CA people gravitate to each other

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Email to family and friends dated November 12, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Weather Extremes at Anchor

It is eerie quiet as I sit here and type this. The skies are clear, there is hardly a breath of wind, and the water is like glass. That low pressure system that has kept us here in Tonga has now moved well past us, and we are sitting on a high pressure ridge. What a difference a couple days makes. Two days ago we had westerly winds blowing at 20-25 kts with higher gusts, and all the boats were hobby horsing like crazy. Usually it seems when we’re having any sort of bad weather, the worst of it comes at night, but this time we were fortunate and by the time I went to bet it had already started moderating.
It’s looking like Saturday may be firming up as a departure day for Minerva, although I haven’t gotten the weather yet this morning, so that could possibly change. We had a potluck on shore last night, so of course everyone is swapping ideas about when the best time to leave might be, and the general consensus is that Saturday morning will be a mass Exodus and the race to Minerva will be on.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – November 13, 2014 (Pangaimotu to Tau and back)

Passage Log (Tim’s Handwriting)

• 0915 Engines on
• 0945 P engine off
• 1235 Arrive Tau Isle
• 1655 Depart Tau (SB engine off)
• 2000 Arrive Pangaimotu engines off

Daily Notes (Deanne’s Handwriting)

• T – Exodus spearfishing excursion to Tau w/ Jack & Phil (Iguana), David (Tusitala), & Gary (Nirvana)
• D/Boys – on shore all day
• Pig roast

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Email to family and friends dated November 13, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Pig Roast

Last night we had a big pig roast at Big Mama’s. One of the other cruisers organized it, and we all paid in advance for the pigs, and while Alex and Brenden and I were on shore doing school yesterday a boat pulled up and we could hear the squealing of the three little pigs. The guys promptly took them out back and slaughtered them, put them on spits, and put them over the fire for slow roasting. We didn’t watch the slaughtering, although if the boys had shown any interest I might have let them, they are old enough after all. The party started at 6 and went at least until midnight, which is when Alex got home, and he said some of the kids were still there. They were all having such a good time. Big Mama even got up and danced to Abba.
Last weekend I was bummed that the weather was causing us to wait another week, but now I think it was a really good thing. We’ve gotten to know quite a few new people, and the kids have had one of those rare cruising times when there are a lot of kids together for more than a day or two.
So, why were we doing school on shore yesterday? It’s because Tim took Exodus and 4 other guys on a field trip to a small island and reef about 12 miles away to do some spear fishing. They came back with about 5 fish, but unfortunately no tuna. More importantly they had a great time, and they even made it back to get served one of the pig heads, which apparently according to the Tongans is the best part.
There’s no wind right now, but hopefully there will be at this time tomorrow and we will be pulling up anchor.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – November 14, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• D/Boys – last trip to town for donuts & veggies
• Prep to leave, last internet
• Lots of boats leaving too including Iguana & Fluenta

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Email to family and friends dated November 14, 2014

Subject: Exodus – ready for departure to Minerva

We are planning to leave Tonga later this morning. It’s early now and raining, but the forecast still looks good to get to Minerva, even if light winds. I’m up before everyone else to bake biscuits so we all have something to munch on as we navigate out the channel. I’d say about half the fleet here is leaving this morning, some left last night, and some are waiting until Monday or Tuesday. Leaving today might mean motoring the last bit to Minerva, but our strategy is to try to get there while we will still have a couple days of light winds for the diving and spear fishing. It’s about 260 miles away so it will likely take us 2 full days to get there. We haven’t been on passage for quite some time, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

October 30 – November 6, 2014

Tongatapu is the southernmost island group in Tonga, and it’s also where the capital of Nuku’alofa is located. We are anchored off of a small island called Pangaimotu about a mile’s dinghy or ferry ride from Nuku’alofa. Big Mama’s yacht club is on shore at Pangaimotu, and all the cruisers are having great fun using it as a home base.

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Logbook – October 30, 2014 (Kelefesia to Pangaimotu)

Passage Log

• 0707 Engines on
• 0712 Depart Kelefesia
• 0731 Engines off. Main + Genoa.
• 0931 Main + Genoa. TWS – 15.9 kts E
• 1006 P engine briefly on (1)
• VHF contact with Fluenta
• 1126 Main + Genoa. TWS – 14.4 kts E
• 1157 Fish on & landed. 4 ft Dorado.
• 1351 Engines on. Sails down.
• 1458 Engines off. Arrive Pangaimotu.

Daily Notes

• (1) Fish on and off. Tried to slow down by heading up. Too much. Overcome by weather helm w/ genoa depowered. Used port engine to avoid irons.
• Safe arrival drinks w/ Jack on Exodus
• Fluenta, Fluenta, Fluenta! Big mama’s for burgers, beer, internet, and friends.

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Email to family and friends dated October 30, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Fluenta, Fluenta, Fluenta!

We made excellent time to Nuku’alofa. We were having safe arrival cocktails in the cockpit by 3:30, and we were on shore getting (not as good as we thought it would be) internet and snacks by 5:00. We were so excited that after all this time, we arrived here on the same day as our friends on Fluenta, who we haven’t seen since Mexico. We have been following their adventures by email, but it was so nice to catch up in person. The boys had fun running around with Jonathon and Victoria again, well, OK, mostly Brenden, because Alex is a teenager now and teenagers are just boring. We also caught up with another boat that we hadn’t seen since Mexico called Code Blue. They are one of the few boats we spent the summer in the Sea of Cortez with last year, so that bond still remains.
We are anchored off a small island, called Pangaimotu, across the harbor from the main port of Nuku’alofa, and we are with about 20 other cruising boats. There is a bar/restaurant/yacht club here called “Big Mama’s” but today we are going to head over to the main city to explore (and do our check-in, of course). This morning I started to get serious about watching the weather for the passage to Minerva Reef, and then New Zealand, and yesterday Tim and Jack started the more important business of discussing the terms for the Exodus/Iguana Tonga to New Zealand fishing contest.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 31, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• Dinghied across to Nuku’alofa. Checked in with Customs.
• Lunch at Friends Restaurant. Groceries, market, Digicel.
• Most Tongans we meet have been to the U.S.
• Halloween Party

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Logbook – November 1, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• T – Engine inspections & steering inspections
• D – run around Pangaimotu 5x. Ferry to town all day.
• A/B – Play w/ Fluenta on shore after school.
• Dinner on Fluenta. Met Phil s/v Silhouette.

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Logbook – November 2, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes:

• No school. Just Spanish. Boys play on shore.
• T/Jack – Fix Jack’s generator.
• Dinner on Exodus w/ Fluenta and Iguana

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Logbook – November 3, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes:

• D – Ferry to town. Holiday so most things are closed. Luckily, bakery is open.
• Internet @ Big Mama’s. Boys clean hull.
• Easy dinner. Tim to Iguana to look at watermaker.

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Email to family and friends dated November 3, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Prepping for Minerva/New Zealand

We are hoping to be able to leave for Minerva Reef this weekend, but of course that will depend on weather. Our visas expire on Saturday, so we will do our check-out on Thursday and then leave the first day after that the weather looks good. We are checking out Thurs rather than Friday, because we’ve learned from experience you just don’t leave these sorts of things to the last day. There could be a surprise holiday or a requirement we didn’t know about or anything that might delay us a day.
Many boats leave here with uncertainty whether they will stop in Minerva or not, because if they have a good window to keep going to New Zealand, they don’t want to miss it. Well, it’s a little different for us, and we will be stopping in Minerva regardless of what the window looks like to keep going. It is a destination for us, and we are hoping for lots of tasty fish and lobsters. We are all doing our share to get ready, who are cleaning the hull, and they don’t even get skittles this time.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – November 4, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Passage Log

• 1321 Engines on
• 1338 Engines off. Re-anchor complete

Daily Notes:

• D – Ferry to town – more shopping. reanchor. T – fix generatory.
• Boys go to shore, don’t come home until 8:30. Movie night.

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Logbook – November 5, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• Boys – Finish hull cleaning w/ help from Jonathon (Fluenta)
• T – helps Fluenta w/ sail repair
• T – Up the mast
• Dinner on shore

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Logbook – November 6, 2014 (Pangaimotu)

Daily Notes

• D/T – Ferry to town to clear out & arrange duty free fuel. Coordinated with Ika, Tusitala, Nirvana, & Iguana
• T – more help to Fluenta w/ sail repair
• Game night on Exodus w/ Iguana & Tusitala (David & Briana)

October 27-29, 2014

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Logbook – October 27, 2014 (Nomuka Iki to Kelefesia)

Passage Log

• 1023 Engines on
• 1030 Depart Nomuka Iki
• 1134 Engines off main (2 reef) + Genoa (2 reef)
• 1330 Engines on, sails down
• 1450 Engines off. Arrive Kelefesia

Daily Notes

• Bash to Kelefesia, beautiful island, beautiful beach
• B/T/Jack – explore island. Boys skim board.
• T/Jack – Nighttime lobstering

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Email to family and friends dated October 27, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Kelefesia

We arrived yesterday at our last stop in Ha’apai, and wow, what a great way to end the run. Unlike the other islands, which are totally flat like motus of an atoll, Kelefesia has some slight elevation to it, and the contrast is striking. There is a beautiful beach that ends at with sandspit off the tip of the island, and apparently it’s “awesome for skim boarding!” Tim and Jack walked the reef last night lobstering. I was asleep when they got back, so I don’t know if we’re having a lobster feast tonight, or if I’m going to have to whip something up from the dregs of our freezer. We intend to stay here for a few days and then make a long day sail down to Nuku’alofa.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 28, 2014 (Kelefesia)

Daily Notes

• Jack’s Birthday!
• T/J spearfish. 2 pampanos + 1 sm. grouper
• Crazy game of resistance

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Logbook – October 29, 2014 (Kelefesia)

Daily Notes

• Generator out of gas – 2 false starts: 1) gas vent closed (previously left open) 2) kept vibrating off water jug
• Last day in Ha’apai. No school!
• Skimboarding

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Email to family and friends dated October 29, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Leaving Tomorrow

We intend to set sail tomorrow just after sunrise to head to the “big city” of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga. From what I hear on the radio nets there are a ton of boats there now prepping and watching weather for passage to New Zealand. We are looking forward to internet and fresh veggies, but it’s sort of sad that this passage represents the winding down of our cruising in the tropics this year. Today, we had a full day of sunshine for the first time in, I don’t know, weeks, so it was a perfect final day in Ha’apai. We took the day off from school, so the boys got to get a full fix of skim boarding and overall just messing around.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

October 20-26, 2014

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Logbook – October 20, 2014 (Ha’afeva to O’ua)

Passage Log

• 1001 Engines on
• 1005 Depart Ha’afeva
• 1137 Engines off arrive O’ua

Daily Notes

• Move to O’ua. Rolly, bounchy anchorage. Winds swing all the way North. Rainy and Gray.

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Logbook – October 21, 2014 (O’ua)

Daily Notes

• Jello!
• Game night
• (Tim’s writing) Spearfishing expedition to Wichkam Reef. Amazing spot. Made Holes in 4 tuna and 2 huge coral trout but came back empty. Huge bull shark & leopard shark said hi.

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Email to family and friends dated October 21, 2014

Subject: Exodus – O’ua

O’ua is an interesting anchorage. We are not exactly anchored off the island but rather off of the extensive reef that surrounds it. It’s one of the rolliest anchorages we’ve been in, and it gets worse at high tide when the reef provides less protection, but we are getting used to the less than flat anchorage conditions of the Ha’apai group. There’s actually a winding channel through the reef to navigate back to a much more protected anchorage just off the island, but we opted to stay out here with better access to spear fishing spots. There are two small islets near us that look inviting to explore, but the weather conditions (rainy and windy) have kept me on the boat. It’s not exactly fun paddle boarding with 15 kts of wind in your face and 2 ft wind chop on the water. We are passing the time mostly with school, especially Spanish, which I recently added to the boys’ curriculum, and we are having a lot of fun with it. OK, it’s mostly me having fun with it, but the boys usually humor me and play along. We’ve also had some pretty intense game nights with our friends playing a game called Resistance (Thanks Yi!) I heard on the morning radio net that there are 13 boats in an anchorage north of us, so we need to keep moving… We will likely move to the island of Nomuka today, which is where the vessel Wildlife (with two kids) is based.
Take care, and love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 22, 2014 (O’ua to Nomuka)

Passage Log

• Engines on
• Depart O’ua
• Engines off, Main + Genoa
• 1339 Engines off, Arrive Nomuka

Daily Notes

• Used a floaty egg
• Iguana caught a Dorado – grilled it up on Exodus. Religious discussion!

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Logbook – October 23, 2014 (Nomuka)

Daily Notes

• T/Jack – Tuna, parrot fish, little grouper
• D/Camille – walk to town. Store closed 😦 Relatively large, sprawling village. People seem shy, not too friendly.

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Logbook – October 24, 2014 (Nomuka to Nomuka Iki)

Passage Log

• 0825 Engines on
• Depart Nomuka
• 0908 Engines off Nomuka Iki

Daily Notes

• Nomuka anchorage got too bouncy – moved to Nomuka Iki
• D – sluggish run on soft sand
• T/Jack/Camille – ashore for coconut water. Cami gets chased into the water by a pig. Tim befriends the pig. Pets it and names it Hamlet.

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Logbook – October 25, 2014 (Nomuka Iki)

Daily Notes

• T/Jack/Camille go over to town on Nomuka. Eggs!
• T/Jack – spearfilsh. No hay noada.
• A/B – collect coconuts on shore
• Dinner on Exodus w/ resistance after

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Email to family and friends dated October 25, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Nomuka

In my last email I commented on how O’ua was the rolliest anchorage we’ve been in, but now I have to say it is Nomuka. To be fair, the spot we were anchored wasn’t even listed as an anchorage in the guide, but it was just off the beach where our friends on s/v Wildlife have a house, so we were motivated to give it a go. We were there two nights and it was just tolerable, but the next morning the winds had clocked slightly more to the North, and then it got really lively. I was having to secure things as if we were underway, and I was having trouble doing simple things like make coffee, because the swell hitting us on the beam was intense. I was trying to wait until Tim got up, but in the end I ended up waking him with a plea that we move anchorages now. So, we moved over to a small island right nearby, called Nomuka Iki (Little Nomuka). We’ve had a lot more wind chop over here, but at least not the huge swells that seemed to be at Exodus’s natural frequency. And you know, Wildlife wasn’t even home. Our timing was poor and we got here while they were in Tongatapu dropping some people off, but they arrived back last night and are actually anchored right near us, so we will likely stay here one more day so the kids can play.
Nomuka has a large village with a store, but Nomuka Iki is mostly uninhabited and has a nice beach. I say “mostly” uninhabited, because there is a bit of a camp of some sort as well as pigs, and one pig in particularly is not too shy. Tim, Jack, and Camille went ashore to collect coconut water, and I guess Tim and Jack left Camille alone to process some coconuts while they went to explore. At some point they heard a faint, “help” and they returned to find Camille in the water and a pig swimming after her. Yes, pigs can apparently swim. We had been told by a local guy that the pigs can be aggressive and sometimes even charge, so Camille wasn’t taking any chances. Well, I knew Tim was a cat whisperer, but it turns out he’s also a pig whisperer. He petted the pig like a dog, and it reacted like a dog, snorting and laying down. Then it followed him around, and when they got in the dinghy to come back to the boats it swam after them for a little while. I don’t think the dogs get pet around here very often, let alone the pigs, so I think that pig will remember Tim forever.
We are going much slower to Nuku’alofa than we thought we would, and some of our friends who left Neiafu after us are already there, and possibly planning to leave for New Zealand today. The end of the South Pacific cruising season is just about here, but we are milking every last bit out of it that we can.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 26, 2014 (Nomuka Iki to Nomuka back to Nomuka Iki)

Passage Log

• 1249 Engines on
• 1255 Depart Nomuka Iki
• 1332 Engines off. Arrive Nomuka.
• 1707 Engines on
• 1714 Depart Nomuka
• 1745 Engines off. Nomuka Iki.

Daily Notes

• No school! Lazy day
• Moved Exodus back to Nomuka to see s/v Wildlife
• Boys played ashore for a few hours building a chicken coop and playing on a swingset

October 15-19, 2014

We made the hop over to the top of the Ha’apai western island chain and the island of Ha’afeva, but the wind was blowing hard from the south making this anchorage not too comfortable. So, after a drive by at Ha’afeva, we moved down to the nearby Matuku and had some fun with the village kids for a few days. When the wind shifted back to a more easterly direction, we moved to Ha’afeva where we visited the village, did some running, and had a couple of lazy rainy days.

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Logbook – October 15, 2014 (Uonukuhihito to Matuku)

Passage Log

• 1004 Engines on
• 1007 Depart
• 1030 Engines off. Main + genoa
• Engines on
• 1307 Arrive Matuku. Engines off.

Daily Notes

• Move to Ha’aveva, but wind due S, not good for that anchorage so we went to Matuku
• Boys went ashore to play with kids on the beach, they took a soccer ball. Squeals of delight!
• The teacher, Isaac, visited Exodus

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Logbook – October 16, 2014 (Matuku)

Daily Notes

• A/B/D & Camille (s/v Iguana) go to school on the island. Not really school, kids just had exams, so they are on break. More soccer.
• T/Jack – spearfish @ Teaupa. 1 tuna + 2 red snapper. Took to the village.
• 3 boys come to Exodus to play. Roughhousing on the net, singing Jingle Bells, teaching B Tongan, playing legos. Ice chest lids as floats.

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Email to family and friends dated October 17, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Matuku

Day before yesterday we arrived at the island of Matuku. It wasn’t our original destination, but at the time the wind was blowing due south or even a little southwest, and the protection here was superior. As the winds continue to shift more easterly we will have to think about moving, maybe this afternoon, maybe tomorrow. There is a small village here with 14 children, and as we were approaching the island they were all on the beach to wave and greet us. The boys went ashore with a soccer ball, and you should have heard the squeals of delight as they approached the beach, it was too cute. A man from the village borrowed one of the paddle boards and came out to visit us on Exodus. It turns out he’s the teacher, and he said he had seen many yachts and he’s always wanted to come aboard one, so he hung out with us for a little while. He also invited the boys to school the next day, and we accepted, so yesterday morning we had to get up and be ready for school by 8:30 (not an easy task, especially for Brenden who likes to sleep in well past 9). When we got there it turns out they didn’t really have school since they finished exams and are having a little break. So, they just played some more soccer. I took a few small items for the school (pencils, paper, crayons), and Camille (our friend on s/v Iguana) took some lollipops, which were a huge hit. And we also gave them the soccer ball, which was accepted with applause. The kids mostly don’t speak English, so it’s even harder than when we were in Makemo, because at least we knew a few catch phrases in French, but I don’t exactly have a book called Tongan for cruisers. When I asked Alex if it was hard, his response was, “when you have a (soccer) ball, you don’t need to speak the language.” Three of the older boys (12 yrs old) come out to visit Exodus when the boys are here and not on shore. They use the lids of ice chests as kick boards to get to us. They seem to be especially fond of Brenden, which I thought was maybe because he’s exactly their size (Alex is quite a bit bigger), but Alex told me it’s because Brenden sings Jingle Bells with them. Of course! Brenden entertained them for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, and they even taught him a little Tongan. They kept asking if are going to leave tomorrow and all of them, including Brenden, were begging us not too. I told them it all depends on the wind. Also, yesterday Tim and Jack took a Tuna (Tongan – Atu) and 2 huge Red Snapper (Tongan – Fongamea) to shore to share with the village. Apparently, it was well received. This afternoon, they are going to take Isaac, the teacher, out spear fishing. When Tim was telling him stories, he was amazed at how deep they dive, so he wants to go along with them.
It’s very windy and also gray and overcast, but there’s still always something to enjoy in Tonga.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 17, 2014 (Matuku to Ha’afeva)

Passage Log

• 1335 Engines on
• 1340 Depart
• 1413 Engines off. Arrive Ha’afeva

Daily Notes

• Walk to town to the store – even a Chinese store on Ha’afeva
• Game night on Exodus. Scattergories & Resistence.

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Logbook – October 18, 2014 (Ha’afeva)

Daily Notes

• D/A/B – Lazy school day
• T/Jack – Spearfish 4 hrs. J – coral trout.

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Logbook – October 19, 2014 (Ha’afeva)

Daily Notes

• Rainy day – no one left the boat
• Boys made cookie dough
• Family game night

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Email to family and friends dated October 19, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Lazy rainy day

Not much going on here, but I thought I’d write and check in anyway. It was gray and rainy most of the day yesterday, and we didn’t even drop the dinghy or paddle boards. None of us even left the boat! After school the boys and I played games, made yogurt, and made cookie dough. Not cookies, but cookie dough with no eggs, because we only have 2 eggs left and at least a week to go until we get to Nuku’alofa. We were planning to go snorkeling on the wreck of an old Korean fishing boat, but that was overcome by events. Tim and Jack completed a couple projects and also hatched our itinerary for the next few days, so I think we’ll be moving on today. But I’m going to try to get in a quick run and a visit to the store if it’s open. We are at the island of Ha’afeva, and our first day here we walked across the island to the town and found the little store and picked up some flour, rice, etc., but Brenden is concerned about how few packs of ramen noodles we have, so I guess I’ll go see if they have that. Provisions are low, but spirits are high.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

October 13-14, 2014

This was a pretty good spot, but my photos are lacking and we didn’t stay long because of the flies. They were driving me crazy!

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Logbook – October 13, 2014 (Uoleva to Uonukuhihifo)

Passage Log

• 1013 Engines on
• 1030 Depart Uoleva
• 1030 Watermaker 4 hrs
• 1219 Engines off Arrive Uonukuhihifo

Daily Notes

• Through the pass that the guidebook called “dangerous” 1-1.5 kts current
• T/Jack – to Limu – 6 lobsters, 2 tuna, 1 rainbow runner
• Lobster feast on Exodus!

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Email to family and friends dated October 13, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Langosta

Langosta, Langoste, I don’t know the word in Tongan, but in any language lobsters are yummy! We are currently anchored off a sand spit between two very small islands called Uonukuhihito and Uonukuhahake (yeah, you try to pronounce them!) It is an amazing spot, and I think the picturesque wow factor as we pulled up was second only to when we first arrived on the eastern side of the lagoon in Raroia (The Tuamotus, French Polynesia). Yesterday Tim and Jack dinghied a few miles south to an island called Limu, and they came back with a huge treat. Six fat lobsters, two large tunas, and a rainbow runner for good measure. Needless to say, we ate quite well last night. After spending so many days ashore on Uoleva, the boys were a bit burned out, and after school all they wanted to do was watch a movie. I couldn’t even entice them to go ashore with me to see the cows that were wandering about. Yeah, two small uninhabited islands connected by a sand spit, and OF COURSE there are cows. I don’t see them now, so hopefully when I go ashore in a bit they will leave me alone.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 14, 2014 (Uonukuhihifo)

Daily Notes

• Too many flies!

October 8-12, 2014

We stayed here about a week, and I loved this place. I think it was the endless white sand beach that hooked me.

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Logbook – October 8, 2014 (Uoleva)

Daily Notes

• T/Jack – spearfish all day at the pass
• A/B – build a house on the beach
• D – falls off paddle board – ashore for a run

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Email to family and friends dated October 8, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Uoleva

After a quick domestic check in and check out at the capital “city” of Pangai on the island of Lifuka, we stopped at the island just south called Uoleva, and we’ve been here a couple days. The weather has been pretty crappy, and it’s supposed to stay this way for several more days as we have the South Pacific Convergence Zone parked north of us and a weak low developing south of us. It’s putting a damper on snorkeling and running, but certainly not spearfishing. Tim’s been having a lot of fun with Jack from s/v Iguana, and they go out for several hours every day. Since we have tons of fish already, they have set their sights on only the big prizes. The boys aren’t letting the weather slow them down either. Uoleva is a small island with white sand beach around the entire perimeter, and yesterday they went and started building a fort, no, more like a house. They were pretty involved in the project and Tim had to whistle them home for dinner at dusk. They are missing other kid boats, though, so fortunately a boat we met in Pago Pago is in the area and are planning to come to this anchorage today, so I’m sure they’ll be a little more motivated to finish schoolwork quickly.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 9, 2014 (Uoleva)

Daily Notes

• Boys to the beach right after school
• S/v Wildlife here. kai came over to say hi

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Logbook – October 10, 2014 (Uoleva)

Daily Notes

• D – long walk on the beach, scary dogs
• Re-anchored Exodus – boys rebuild fort. S/v Wildlife joins them on the beach
• T/Jack – spearfish. Tuna & Grouper. Camille cooks dinner for us. Nice end to the evening on the net (like old times)

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Logbook – October 11, 2014 (Uoleva)

Daily Notes

• Boys – no school. Built another fort on the beach with Kai (S/V Wildlife)
• T/Jack – spearfish 5 miles away at pinnacles. Big grouper.

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Logbook October 12, 2014 (Uoleva)

Daily Notes

• T – defrost the fridge
• D – cleaned shower/made tortillas
• D/T – snorkle on reef off sw tip of Uoleva – colorful hard & soft coral
• Drinks on the beach w/ Iguana & Wildlife
• Boys – dinghy surf with Kai and Dior

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Email to family and friends dated October 12, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Two days off from school

I don’t know what came over me, but I gave the boys the entire weekend off from school. We haven’t been with other kids for a couple weeks, so I let them spend their days with the kids from s/v Wildlife, building a hut, gathering coconuts, and going dinghy surfing. They’ve had a lot of fun, except that Brenden, and only Brenden, is covered in bug bites, kind of like no-se-um bites that we used to encounter in Mexico. He is seriously suffering, because they are all over his back, chest, and naval. I’m guessing that since they were on shore at dusk, and because he’s Brenden, he doesn’t just sit and play in the sand, he lays in it and rolls around in it, which is why the bites are where they are and not on his ankles and calves.
We will likely move today, just a bit south, and just one more thing…
Happy Birthday Dad/Papa! Today is actually the 13th here, but I knew I had a one day grace period due to the date line. 🙂
Love and miss you all,
-D.

October 3-7, 2014

Ha’ano is an uninhabited island in the very north of the Ha’apai group. We stayed a couple days before moving on to Pangai, which is the administrative capital. Pangai was devastated by a cyclone in January, and the wreckage as well as the rebuilding efforts were clearly visible.

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Logbook – October 3, 2014 (Vava’u to Ha’ano Ha’apai)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0023 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (3 reefs)
• 0750 Arrive Ha’ano Island
• 1300 Engines on – reanchor
• 1319 Reanchor complete

Daily Notes

• No boats on AIS. Weird after Vava’u
• Iguana here – Jack finds Tim’s shot snapper

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Email to family and friends dated October 3, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Arrived in Ha’apai

We had a pretty easy overnight passage down to the Ha’apai group in Tonga, and we are currently anchored off the island of Ha’ano, and even though we were pretty heavily reefed all night, we still had to slow down in order not to arrive before sunrise. The sun is still pretty low in the sky and was right in our eyes as we were coming in to anchor, so when it gets higher we’ll take a better look around and make sure we are in a good anchor spot, because right now it just seems like there’s reef all around us. The island very much reminds me of any heavily palmed motu in the Tuamotus, and we’ve got good protection from wind and swell, which is a nice break after two nights at rolly southern anchorages in Vava’u and then the overnight sail. Our final days in Vava’u were a lot of fun, and Tim and Brenden had some good luck spearfishing. There are far fewer cruisers here in Ha’apai than there were in Vava’u, so we are looking forward to some nice quiet family time.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Email to family and friends dated October 3, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Recovered Snapper

We are having a nice time in this anchorage. Yesterday, Tim and I went paddle boarding and explored some of the beaches, and while we were paddling along, Tims says, “there’s a big fish chasing you.” I’m thinking a shark right, but no, it was a huge TUNA, near shore, chasing me, in shallow water. So, of course, as soon as we were back at the boat, Tim was suited up and in the water with his spear gun. When he came back, he had a tale of a huge fish he shot in the face but got away. Then, our friends on Iguana pulled in, and after Jack was finished diving his anchor, he dingied over with a fish book, and pointed to a photo of a red snapper and asked Tim if that was the fish he shot, and sure enough, it was. Then he reaches down into his dinghy and pulls out a huge fish and asks Tim if he recognizes this one’s face. No way! It was the fish Tim had shot. Jack found it lying on the sea floor partially under a coral head. I guess the sharks didn’t notice him first. Anyway, it was a nice big fish, enough for two meals, and of course we had Jack and Camille over for dinner as a finders fee. Today, we are planning to go to a small island that has a volcanic vent that warms the water. Hopefully it lives up to our expectations.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 4, 2014 (Ha’ano to Ofolanga to Ha’ano)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0903 Engines on, depart
• 0922 Engines off, spinnaker
• 1056 Engines on
• 1125 Arrive Ofolanga
• 1457 Engines on
• 1503 Depart Ofolanga
• 1730 Arrive Ha’ano

Daily Notes

• Day trip to Ofolanga w/ Jack and Camille (S/V Iguana)
• Good snorkeling. Tim – trevally, Jack – dogtooth tuna
• Spinnaker run there, bash back

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Email to family and friends dated October 4, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Ofolanga

We took Exodus for a day trip about 10 miles to the NW yesterday to a small island called Ofolanga. The island is entirely enclosed in a reef, so we didn’t actually go to the island, we anchored on the outside of the reef for some amazing snorkeling and spearfishing. The draw was that there is a volcanic vent there that heats the water, and although the water did seem a bit warmer in places, I’m really not sure we ever did find the vent. The coral formations were amazing and there were holes and crevices for all kinds of critters to hide. There was also a huge underwater cave with an open roof, but I wasn’t brave enough to go inside. My highlight was following a sea turtle around, and all the breaching whales we saw in transit both ways. Our friends on Iguana came with us, and while Tim shot a nice Trevally, Jack speared a huge dog tooth tuna! Overall, it was a great day, and we even made it back to the anchorage before dark. Today will just be a quiet Sunday, well, except for Tim and Jack who will go spearfish at a “tuna spot” at the north tip of this island. It’s almost like old times with our freezer full of fish, but I don’t have the heart to put a fishing ban on when they are having so much fun.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – October 5, 2014 (Ha’ano)

Daily Notes

• Spearfishing again w/ Jack (Iguana). Tim & Brenden shot a 39” 25 lb dogtooth tuna! B made faces then shot a 1.5 ft coral trout but bolt didn’t stick… next time

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Logbook – October 6, 2014 (Ha’ano to Pangai)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1052 Engines on
• 1104 Depart
• 1300 Arrive Pangai

Daily Notes

• T/Jack – early AM spearfishing. Jack – 2 huge grouper
• Check-in in Pangai. Jack uses grouper to bribe customs
• D/A/B – “internet” @ Mariners Cafe
• D – run on Ha’ano – 5 miles, killer cows

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Logbook – October 7, 2014 (Pangai to Uoleva)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1128 Engines on
• 1137 Depart
• 1254 Arrive Uoleva

Daily Notes

• Check-out Pangai. Find the “big store”
• Dinner w/ Iguana on Exodus. Yummy spicy tuna rolls

September 29 – October 2, 2014

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Logbook – September 29, 2014 (Neiafu to Nuku)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1805 Engines on, depart Neiafu
• 1927 Arrive Nuku

Daily Notes

• Cleared out of Vava’u – 220 liters of duty-free fuel
• Dinner @ The Aquarium
• Motor at dusk to Nuku

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Email to friends and family dated September 29, 2014

Subject: Exodus – All cleared out

We cleared out of Vava’u yesterday so we are all set to head down to Ha’apai. We were able to get duty free fuel even though we aren’t actually leaving Tonga yet, and I didn’t even have to bribe anyone to make that happen. There’s suppose to be very little wind for the next couple days, so we are going to hang out at one of the southern, less protected islands here in Vava’u so the boys can do some spear fishing before we leave.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – September 30, 2014 (Nuku to Anchorage #34)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0945 Engines on, depart Nuku
• 1009 Engines off, main + genoa
• 1110 Engines on
• 1147 Engines off, arrive #34 Lua’ui

Daily Log

• D – solo snorkel – amazing coral – tons of aquarium fish – 1 reef shark
• T/B – spearfish – small unidentified sashimi fish

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Logbook – October 1, 2014 (Anchorage #34 to Anchorage #36)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1352 Engines on
• 1400 Depart #34 Lua’ui
• 1437 Arrive #36 Fonua’one’on

Daily Notes

• T/B – spearfish
• Potluck on Novae

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Logbook – October 2, 2014 (Vava’u to Ha’apai)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1847 Engines on, depart Anchorage #36
• 1924 Engines off. Main (2 reefs) + genoa

Daily Notes

• T/B – spearfish – B stung by Jellyfish, T-2 fish